It is estimated that between 2015 and 2020, Panama will need to hire around 68,000 employees with technical specialties, and the logistics sector will be the leader in the demand.
According to a labor market study carried out by the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development (Mitradel), estimates for from demand companiesfor technical personnel is high, with the logistics, industry, tourism, agriculture and construction sectors being those that most need staff with these capabilities.
Between 300 thousand and 500 thousand professionals in different areas are estimated to be needed in order to cover the jobs that could be generated in the next ten years.
Panama's economic growth potential can not be fully developed if the necessary conditions are not developed, one of which is the quality of the labor supply.
Panama's improvement in the availability index of skilled labor, does not respond to an increase in supply, but to a drop in demand because of a slowdown in the economy.
An article on Panamaamerica.com.pa details the results obtained from the Talent Shortage Survey conducted by Manpower, noting that "... Panama has reduced its deficit of talent and skilled labor by 12 percentage points during the last year, going from 58% to 46%, however, the causes are not so encouraging, since the reduction is due to a decrease in the search for personnel by companies. "
Companies are struggling to find employees with skills in information technology, programming and networking, electricity, processing and assembly of medical parts.
The Talent Shortage study (2014) by Manpower notes that "... 51% of the 620 Costa Rican employers surveyed said they can not find suitable professionals to perform the tasks required by their company." The main cause, according to the contractors, is lack of technical skills.
The service sector is the fastest-growing (19.9%) with 53,129 social security contributors, about 8,850 more than in the same period in 2012. Up until last September 113,067 new contributors signed up, 15,104 more than the 97,963 reported in the same period last year.
Up until September 113 067 new contributors signed up , 15,104 more than the 97,963 reported in the same period last year.
Colombian, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan, Dominican and Spanish are among the nationalities of the immigrants who are coming to Panama to work.
Economic growth in Panama and the works of a series of large projects have raised the interest of foreigners who come to work in the country.
According to data from the Ministry of Labor and Workforce Development (Mitradel) 11,037 work permits was granted to foreigners in 2011 , about 1,063 more permits than in 2010 (10,224).
Cacif, leader of the Guatemalan private sector, has presented a report entitled "Trends in the labor market in the last thirty years"
The report by the Coordinating Committee of Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (Cacif) states:
Guatemala's economic structure has been under constant pressure in recent decades. Every year new people are added to the workforce without there being economic growth which is high enough to incorporate them in an appropriate and dignified way into the formal labor market. In 1980 the economically active population (EAP) in the country was about 2,462,812 people and the number affiliated to the IGSS was 755,542, indicating that only 30% of the EAP was employed in the formal sector. This figure in itself was worrying, because it means the remaining 70% were working on an informal basis, which inevitably means lower wages and without any kind of safety net for health and old age.
There are appeals to make teaching English obligatory and to encourage cooperation between private enterprises and the government in order to make the country more attractive to the contact center industry, and generate more jobs.
The Government and the private sector aim to create a common initiative to attract more call centers companies, and create 50,000 new jobs for young people, mainly in the next few years ahead, said Elperiodico.com.
The Net Employment Outlook for the first three months of 2012 is +24%, putting more pressure on a market with a serious shortage of qualified human resources.
While efforts are being made to the train people locally, foreigners continue to come into the country to meet the demand of international companies based there.
Eric Quesada, Regional Director for Manpower, said: "Today there are significant challenges for companies to find staff, specially skilled staff. The foreign population is constantly increasing, as people come to fill the positions that are not being covered locally. "
Salvadoran firms require skilled labor, engineers and bilingual accounting professionals.
Marco Penado, general manager of Manpower El Salvador, said that human resources in need by businesses do not match with what the universities are producing.
Within the 10 most requested jobs there are:
- Skilled labor (carpenters, welders, electricians)
- Sales Agents
Employers indicate greater difficulty in finding skilled labor.
According to a study by Manpower, 36% of surveyed employers revealed difficulties this year in getting qualified employees, while in 2009 the figure was 20%.
"The immediate problem is not the number of potential candidates, but rather the shortage of talent, because not enough people are sufficiently qualified," Prensalibre.com published.
The call center industry is finding it hard to grow, due to lack of qualified bilingual personnel.
From every 7 individuals who apply for a Call Center job, just one has an English Language level of 85% or above. The remaining 6 display a skill level of 70%.
Beatriz Peralta, Sykes general manager, told Elsalvador.com that “these deficiencies limit the growth of the industry.
24/7 Customer will double its operations during this year, adding 500 people to their current workforce of 900.
As the first phase of their hiring process, the call center will stage a "24 Hour recruiting day" on July 24, where it aims to hire as much people as possible in 24 hours.
"We will be requiring students, women and mothers with job experience in banking, hospitality and other services", published Prensalibre.com, "opportunities also exists for third age citizens and foreigners with good level of English language".
Call center activity continues to grow in the Panama market, despite the lack of qualified personnel.
There are currently 79 call centers operating in the country, of which 78 are for commercial use and 1 is for self service, according to reports from the Public Services Authority.
Claudia De Fabrega, Special Projects Manager at Star Contact call center, said that at the moment there are less qualified personnel to work in this sector than 10 years ago.
The expansion of Digitex, 24/7 Customer, Transactel, Staffers, Red Ventures, and Genpact is triggering an increase in the demand for bilingual workers and at the same time is causing salaries in the sector to rise.
More personnel with a good level of English are needed.
Mario Marroquin, Director of Invest (an agency in Guatemala), points out that it is necessary to transform the national education curriculum to include English courses.